I can’t believe programming is now at the stage where advice like "first have the computer give you totally wrong answers, then just find a function that maps the wrong answers to the correct ones!" is a thing.

This is so similar to human decision-making though. First I my innate experience to approximate to what I expect is right, then I map that to the truth.

It's the same for so many things:

- reading documentation (what do I expect this function to be called?)

- finding clothes in a shop (something long-sleeved and light)

- picking the fridge for dinner

- finding a book in the library...

so many analogues where I'm not coming cold to a choice.

the trick is that it's not totally wrong to start with

I can't believe people spend their lives finding lazier ways to classify a bunch of objects that will end up heaped in dormitory dumpsters across the US next spring.